About Velvet Ice Cream's Ye Olde Mill
Ye Olde Mill is the home of Velvet Ice Cream, a family company that Joseph Dager, an immigrant from Lebanon, started in Utica in 1914. The mill building dates to 1817, and in 1960 the family made the old grist mill the company's permanent home. An ice cream parlor opened to visitors in 1970; after a fire in the mid-1980s the building was restored and reopened in 1987. The fourth generation of the Dager family now leads the business.
The parlor scoops more than 40 Velvet flavors and novelties, and the kitchen serves paninis, salads, soups, sandwiches and appetizers. A museum that Velvet calls Ohio's only ice cream museum tells the Dager family story and shows ice cream artifacts, with a gift shop attached, and there is a newer candy shop and a small arcade.
The mill sits on 20 acres with two ponds for catch-and-release fishing, a buckeye grove, a duck-feeding area, playgrounds and shelter houses that hold 50 to 150 guests. Live music plays on the patio on Saturdays and Sundays. The biggest weekend is the Utica Ice Cream Festival on Memorial Day weekend; the 50th festival ran May 23–25, 2026, with a downtown parade, a car show of more than 300 classic cars, kids' activities and dozens of craft and food vendors.
Utica is in Licking County, northeast of Columbus and well away from the lavender fields. Abundantly Blessed Farm near Bucyrus, the closest Ohio lavender farm on our list, is about 65 miles northwest, roughly an hour and 20 minutes by car, so plan the two as separate stops on a central Ohio loop.
What to do
- Choose from more than 40 Velvet flavors in the mill's parlor
- Tour the ice cream museum and its gift shop
- Have lunch: paninis, soups, salads and sandwiches
- Fish catch-and-release in the two ponds or feed the ducks
- Hear live music on the patio on weekends
- Go to the Utica Ice Cream Festival on Memorial Day weekend (May 23–25 in 2026)
Season, hours and prices
- Season
- Ice Cream Festival on Memorial Day weekend; posted summer schedule runs through September 1
- Hours
- Summer schedule posted on their website (checked October 2026): Thursday–Sunday 11 a.m.–5 p.m., kitchen closes at 4; closed Monday–Wednesday; through September 1. Grounds close at sunset.
- Admission
- Ice Cream Festival: $10 per carload (2026)
Tips for your visit
- Check their website for hours after September 1, since the posted schedule covers summer
- Shelter houses can be rented for groups of 50 to 150; call 800-589-5000 about availability and fees
- Alcohol is not allowed at the shelter houses, and fishing is catch-and-release only
- The festival parade starts downtown at 11 a.m. on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend
Pair it with a lavender farm
Abundantly Blessed Farm · about 80 minutes away
Abundantly Blessed Farm near Bucyrus is about an hour and 20 minutes northwest, best combined on a full central Ohio day.
Getting there
Questions
When is the Utica Ice Cream Festival?
Memorial Day weekend at Ye Olde Mill; in 2026 it ran May 23–25 and admission was $10 per carload.
Is there food besides ice cream?
Yes, the kitchen serves paninis, salads, soups, sandwiches and appetizers.
Can groups reserve space?
Yes, shelter houses hold 50 to 150 guests; call 800-589-5000.
🗺️ Part of the guide Things to Do Near the Lavender Farms of Lebanon & Yellow Springs, Ohio
Checked in October 2026 against the business’s own website and local tourism pages. Hours and seasons change, so check with them before you go. How we check listings · Is this your business? Claim it free
